Pushing the limits

Pushing the limits(2001, Dec 1) The New York Times, by J. Longman [link]

This extensive article by Jere Longman is one of the better pieces of journalism on this topic. Longman characterises the doping problem in sport as 'chemical cat-and-mouse' where the takers have been far advanced of the testers. Here, the core concern for the health of athletes is made explicit by IOC member Jacque Rogge [then, not IOC President]. Some important ethical questions are posed in this article, such as the distinction between therapy and enhancement or, what happens once the technology is made safe. Longman also questions what would happen if a person is born with a genetic modification, which would amount to a genetic advantage in sport. Of course, some athletes already have a genetic advantage in sport and so it might be wondered why a different kind of manufacturing of this advantage through genetics is anything to worry about. The article mentions some of the recent research that too place on so-called 'Schwarzenegger mice' from the Sweeney labs.